KYB Strut Life Expectancy? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JamesDean · #1 10-14-2013, 09:14 AM

Hey everyone,

On my 91 300D, the previous owner installed KYB front struts around 210-212,000 miles. My records are not clear on miles but that fits around the listed date.

Right now I have 268,000 miles on the car, putting some 56,000 miles on the struts.

Whats the expected life span on these guys?

oldsinner111 · #2 10-14-2013, 10:28 AM

hard to say,probably not as long as the older blisteins like on my w126.My w140 shocks were leaking a 130,000 miles.So blisteins probably makes replaceable shocks now,gone are the great miles they stood.

t walgamuth · #3 10-14-2013, 10:55 AM

I have had kybs once in my Saab....total catastrophic failure at 30K. I had Ranchos on my Big Dodge made by kyb and they also lasted about 30K. Of course my Koni's on the dodge have only lasted about 50K so in that case the Kyb may be competitive when cost is considered and when they carry a lifetime warranty. You just have to deal with the repetitive installation cost.

JamesDean · #4 10-14-2013, 12:50 PM

Hmmm I wonder if mine are bad?

I've got new shock mounts to install..
Kind of need an alignment (not because it went out, but because of how they set it last alignment)

New front struts would be a good idea at if I've got all that to do..but if they're not bad...

If I'm gonna replace them I'll go with Bilstein comforts.

t walgamuth · #5 10-14-2013, 01:39 PM

Two ways they fail, visibly with leaking around the shaft or by noting a deterioration of ride quality. If the car feels really bouncy they are shot.

Skippy · #6 10-14-2013, 05:28 PM

I had KYB's on my Lincoln Town Car a few years ago. The fronts went out pretty quickly from doing 20 miles a day of washboarded dirt road. The rears were still okay when I sold the car with about 30 or 40 thousand miles on those shocks.

Hit Man X · #7 10-14-2013, 10:31 PM

KYB = Keep Your Bilsteins

I had a set on a W126 and an E23, they just do not hold up for any long term use. 'You get what you pay for' applies here. 50k+ I would say they have had it.

Bilstein and Boge/Sachs seem to slowly degrade in quality.

Zacharias · #8 10-14-2013, 11:46 PM

I have a friend who hangs out in the VW community and I get the feeling they are well thought of there.

On the boards for larger/heavier European cars, the consensus seems to be that their initial cost savings is eventually erased by premature failures. And some people find the valving on the rear shocks too soft, apparently (I read a lot of reviews recently when shock-shopping for my w123).

compress ignite · #9 10-15-2013, 12:16 AM

Koni's are Too stiff
KYBs aren't able to last 70K

JamesDean · #10 10-15-2013, 01:00 AM

Hmmm I was thinking 50K is decent life for these. My front end ride is kind of harder/rough maybe? Well, especially when compared to the 126 with new everything...but yeah.

Maybe I'll buy new ones just so I can get it done and out of the way. Since I do 99.9% highway driving I'll probably aim for the comfort/touring ones instead of heavy duty units.

JamesDean · #11 11-19-2013, 12:46 PM

FYI, they were bad.

The driver side had next to no recoil left in it. The passenger side was not as bad but still pretty bad. From full compression to normal height it took them >10 seconds. LOL.

Here are some pics:
W124 Front Strut + Mount Replacement 11-16-2013 - Imgur

My front end picked up an inch or two as well. So I learned that the classic "bounce test" does not really work well on these cars. My 190E was the same way, drivers side horrible passenger side better but still overall bad.